Airplane kite



July 26, 1938. w. A. WOOD 2,124,992

' AIRPLANE KITE Filed Dec. 21, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 26, w, A, WOOD 2,124,992

AIRPLANE KITE v Filed Dec. 21, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WV v /5 I I v I N VEN TOR ATTORNEY 50' Fig. illustrates the manner in whichthe Patented July 26, 193$ AIRPLANE KITE Walter A. Wood, Los ,Angeles, Calif., assignor to John D. Chesnnt, San Marino, @alii.

Application December" 21, 1935, Serial No.;55,590; i Claims. .(or. 244-454) My invention relates to improvements in airplane kites, which are kites flown on a string or wire and having the general appearance of an airplane. More particularly the inventionre- 5 lates to improvements in kite construction which provide a kite which flies easily and by a. sim' ple adjustment, can'bemade' to fly with grea stability or can be made to stunt. Y

A principal object of theinvention is to prow vide a kite havingwing surfaces which are curved about their lateral axes to provide 'concave lower wing surfaces resulting in easy fly ingand stability; 1

"Another objectis to providea wing construction wherein the outer tip of each wing cov ering is flexible and can readily'conform to the concave curvature of the remainder of the wing, vgliiile the frame work of the wing is relatively Another object is to provide wings and elevators which are quickly and easilyadjustable to convert the kite from a stable flying kite toa stunting kite, or vice-verse.

Another obiectis to provide a kite havinganose whichis easily replaceable in case of damwe other object is to provide a framework which is easily covered with paper or fabric and which may be quickly and easily assembled. Another object is to provide a wind-operated noise making device which simulates the sound of an airplane engine. Another object'is to provide a construction" which is substantially two-dimensional, but which'has the appearance of a full three-dimen=- sional device when viewed from any angle.

Another object is to provide a kite which is light, but strong, and of simple construction.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following descriptions and drawings where Fig. 1 shows a perspective view oi the kite framework with the covering removed.

Fig. 2 shows a side elevation at the kite 4o framework;

Fig. 3 shows a plan viewof one form of elevator.

Fig. 4 shows a plan view of the framework of an,alternative tom: of elevator.- a.

framework of wing covering bellies in the wind" when free of the wing frame at both ends. 11g. 6 illustrates the manner'in which th wing covering bellies in the wind when free of the 55' wing frame at the outer ends only.

The main body or fuselage of the kite is formed by a pair of bowed members (such as bambo sticks); i and 2 brought together and fastened at their rear ends, 3. The members i and 2 are spaced apart at their forward ends and are fastened to an upright t. .A brace, 5, is fastened betweenthe members i and 2 to the rear of post. t. Post t extends above and below the members i and 2, respectively, and at its lower end is fastened to a cross piece or axle, t, which is provided at its outer ends with wheels, l. A pair of brace members, 8 and Ba are fastened at their ends to the axle, 6, and post t. If desired, a bowed piece, 9, may be. detachably connected at its ends to post t, as by means of brackets, it, and bolts, on.

A pair of laterally extending wings-are attached to the fuselage. Each wing comprises a pair of parallel spaced members Mila and l2l2a. The members ill-Md and l2-i2a are each connected by a pair of spaced cross braces itl3a and it.lta, respectively. A pair of diagonally crossed braces, M and Ma are connected at their ends to the respective braces, it--l3a, near the lateral 'members, Mila. The other wing is similarly braced. In order to give the wing framework a bowed contour about its lateral axis, suitable cords or wires, 55, are connected across the under surface of each wing. To engage the cords, ill, each of the cross braces, it and ltd, extends slightly beyond the respective lateral members ill-[Ila and [IE-42a. The cords are drawn tight to impart a bow to the framework. The outer ends of each pair of lateral members, li-l Ila-and i2-l2a, are connected by a cross brace, it and ita. A slack cord, l'l--i'la (Fig. 3) connects the outer tips of the lateral members Ill-Ma and 42-min the slackness being sumcient to permit a curvature equal to the bow of the wings. The wing covering is fastened to the cords, ii and He, and not to the cross braces, it and Ma. l

The wings are fastened to the fuselage in such a manner that they can be readily tilted to either raise or lower the leading edge with respect to the trailing edge in orderto vary the angle of. incidence. This may be accomplished by raising or lowering either edge, but I prefer toraise and lower the leading edge. For. this purpose the upper part of the upright 4 is provided with a series of vertically aligned holes, it, which receive the bolts, i9, which hold the wings in place. If it is desired to adjust the trailing edge of the wing, it is donein a similar manner, using the vertically aligned holes, 20,

. other end is connected to the fuselage. The.

front struts are connected to the axle, G, in any suitable manner, such as by means of bolts. The other ends of the struts are adiustably connected to the wings. For this purpose, the ends of the struts are provided with series of holes, 28, which receive the bolts or wires which fasten the strut to the wing.

The elevator (Fig. 3) may consist of a pair of spaced members, 25 and 26, which straddle the member I. The members 25- and carry the spaced cross pieces, 21 and 28. The forward ends of. the cross pieces are provided with holes to receive abolt, .38, which pivotally fastens the elevator to'the' member I. An adiusting arm 31 is pivotally fastened to member I by a bolt, 32 by means of which the angle of incidence of the elevator can be varied. The arm, 3|, is provided with series of holes, 33, to receive a bolt, '84, whichadjustably fastens the arm, 8|, to the elevator member. The outer ends of the members, 21 and 28, are connected by-slack cords,

35-35a and 88-489.,to which the :covering is attached. I s

The elevator may also be made of two independently adjustable sections'as shown in Fig. 4. In this case the members, 21a and 28a, which correspond to the members 21 and 28, are not connected together, but are separately hinged to the fuselage. End braces, 48 and 24, may or may notbeused' f/ The rudder consistsv of acurved piece of wire 48, each end of which is threaded and passes through a hole, 8838, in member 1. Suitable nuts, ll, hold the wires in place.

The frameworkof the kite is covered with a suitable paper or cloth 55. The covering on the wings and elevatoris made slack so that the wind will cause it to belly against the bowed framework. To accomplish this, the wing covering is edges, as shown made somewhat wider than the frame and secured to the frame at the leading and trailing in Figs. 5 and 6. The outer ends l1 and Ho of the wing covering and preferably but not necessarily the inner ends 56 and 56a are loose and free of the frame. Because of this. construction the covering can belly in the wind to provide various degrees of wing curvature (in cross section) extending all the way along the wing, without the formation of air pockets, and permitting the banked ends of the wing. The result of this construction is a kite having great flying stability and great climbing ability.

. In order to give the kite an appearance of a third dimensionJprovlde a pair of horizontally extending wing-like members, 42-42a, fastened to the nose, 8; I also provide a similar pair of wing-like members, 8-4311, extending outwardly from the fuselage between the trailing-edge of the wings and the forward edge of the elevator.

These wing-like members are covered with cloth or paper.

I provide a propeller, 44, which rotats freely in the wind, mounted upon a shaft, 46, extending through the nose 8. Kit is desired to simulate the sound of an airplane engine, I provide extending elevator.

up air to escape from the the shaft, 45, with one or more knockers, 48, which strike against hollow, drum-like members, 41, fastened to'the nose 8.

The kite is flown from a single string or cord, 48, fastened anywhere on axle-6, but preferably in the center.

The easev with which this kite flies is due, principally, to the bow or curvature of the wings, which forms a concave lower face against which the wind strikes. It will be obvious that the curvature of the wing surfaces may be attained in several ways. For example,'the framework may be perfectly flat, but the covering may be made oversize or slack, (that is, wider than the frame) so that the wind will cause it to belly and assume a concave position.

If it is desired to have the kite fly in a stable manner, the wings are given a fairly'steep pitch and angle. If it is desired to make the kite "stunt" the pitch and angle of the wings are kept I claim:

l..An airplane kite comprising a frame forming a fuselage, a substantially horizontal frame mounted on said fuselage near one end thereof forming ,a pair of laterally extending wing frames, a flexible covering for each of said wing frames, said covering being of greater width than the wing frame and fastened to each wing frame at the leading and trailing edge thereof, the inner and outer ends of said covering being loose and free of said wing frame whereby the wing covering will belly in the wind to provide concave lower wing surfaces when in flight and a third frame mounted on the opposite end of said fuselage from said'wings forming alaterally extending elevator. p 1 I 2. An airplane kite comprising a frame forming a fuselage, a pair of substantially horizontal frames mounted on said fuselage near one end.

of said wing frames whereby each of the wing I coverings will belly in the wind to provide concave lower surfaces throughout the length thereof when in flight and a substantially horizontal frame mounted on the opposite end of said, fuselage "from the wings forming a, laterally 3. An airplane kite as defined in claim 2 in which the elevator frame is provided with a pair of flexiblecovers secured thereto on opposite sides of the fuselage, each of said covers being secured to the leading and trailing edges of the elevator frame and being loose and free of the elevator frame at the inner and outer ends thereof whereby said elevator covers will belly in the wind to provide concave lower surfaces throughout the length thereof when in flight.

4. In an airplane kite of the type described, frames forming laterally extending substantially horizontal wings, a flexible covering secured to said wing frames at the leading and trailing edges thereofnsaid covering at the outer ends of said wings being loose and free of said wing frames at the inner and outer edges of said coverings whereby the wing covering at the outer ends of the wings will belly in the wind to provide concave lower wing surfaces when in flight. 

